create-skill

Guide for creating effective, concise skills with specialized knowledge, workflows, and tool integrations.

• Modular packages extending agent capabilities with domain expertise
• Self-contained units providing workflows, tools, and knowledge
• Transform general agents into specialized, task-optimized agents
• Enable procedural knowledge and tool integration beyond model limits

• Concise is Key: Only add context you don’t already have
• Set appropriate degrees of freedom: high, medium, low freedom based on task fragility
• Anatomy includes SKILL.md (required) and optional bundled resources
• Scripts provide deterministic, reusable code for reliable tasks
• References store detailed docs loaded as needed, not in SKILL.md
• Assets are output files, not context-loaded, for templates and branding
• Progressive disclosure keeps context lean and focused
• Avoid extraneous files like READMEs or installation guides

1. 1.Create SKILL.md with clear YAML frontmatter (name, description)
2. 2.Include only essential procedural instructions in SKILL.md body
3. 3.Place detailed references in references/ folder, not in SKILL.md
4. 4.Store scripts in scripts/ for reusable, deterministic tasks
5. 5.Use assets/ for files used in output, not loaded into context
6. 6.Ensure references are searchable with grep patterns if large (>10k words)